Queen of king cake

Houston's queen of king cake

Published 6:30 am, Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Sandi Bubbert's colorful king cake weighs about 3 pounds and is formed by hand. "If you really want one that tastes like a Louisiana one, that's mine," she says.

Sandi Bubbert's colorful king cake weighs about 3 pounds and is formed by hand. "If you really want one that tastes like a Louisiana one, that's mine," she says.

Photo: Johnny Hanson :, Chronicle

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Sandi Bubbert, owner of Acadian Bakers on West Alabama, will make about 1,000 king cakes this season.

Sandi Bubbert, owner of Acadian Bakers on West Alabama, will make about 1,000 king cakes this season.

Photo: Johnny Hanson :, Chronicle

Queen of king cake

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Let's call her the Queen of Kings. And why not? After all, Sandi Bubbert makes what some people call the best king cake in Houston.

Bubbert, owner of Acadian Bakers, is very busy this time of year as orders flow in (each colorful cake is made to order) for a dessert treat that is part of the Mardi Gras tradition in the Gulf Coast. Although Bubbert will bake the cake for customers any time of the year, it is the days between Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and Fat Tuesday that the majority of the queen's kings are made.

Bubbert, whose West Alabama shop has been in business for 32 years, said her cake, which weighs about 3 pounds, is formed by hand and coated with Mardi Gras-colored icing (she does not like colored dusting sugars). "If you really want one that tastes like a Louisiana one, that's mine," she said standing in her shop decorated with photographs of her and celebrities including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Barbara Bush, Laura Bush, Ann Richards and Reba McEntire. ("They all have a sweet tooth," she said with a smile).

The week before Fat Tuesday, we caught up with Bubbert, who will make about 1,000 king cakes this season. This is what she said about her cake:

• The recipe:"It comes from my grandmother who was from St. Martinville (La.), the home of the Acadians. Just about everything I bake is from old recipes from Mammaw (Hattie Mae Eudora Brown). I always think of her when I bake. She was a little-bitty thing. Everything she cooked I thought was wonderful, but we're always partial toward our grandma."

• The cake: "It's a Danish pastry infused with lots and lots of butter. That's the secret to it — lots of butter. So many layers of butter. The icing is French buttercream. I go through pounds and pounds of butter. That's why it's so soft and delicious. It's all that butter."

• How to get yours:Order from Acadian, 604 W. Alabama, by calling 713-520-1484. The cake, which easily feeds 12-15, is $25.95 for a traditional filling of cinnamon and pecans; $27.95 for raspberry and cream cheese filling; $28.95 for "the works."

Pour the warm milk into a large bowl. Whisk in the granulated sugar, yeast and a heaping tablespoon of the flour, mixing until both the sugar and the yeast have dissolved.

Once bubbles have developed on the surface of the milk and it begins to foam, whisk in the butter, eggs, vanilla and lemon zest. Add the remaining flour, cinnamon and nutmeg and fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a large rubber spatula.

After the dough comes together, pulling away from the sides of the bowl, shape it into a large ball. Knead the dough on a floured surface until it is smooth and elastic, about 15 minutes.

Put the dough back into the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside in a draft-free place to let it proof, or rise, for 1½ hours or until the dough has doubled in volume.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Once the dough has risen, punch it down and divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough between your palms into a long strip, making 3 ropes of equal length. Braid the 3 ropes around one another and then form the braided loaf into a circle, pinching ends together to seal. Gently lay the braided dough on a nonstick cookie sheet and let it rise until it doubles in size, about 30 minutes.

Once it's doubled in size, place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake until the braid is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven, place on a wire rack, and allow to cool for 30 minutes.

FOR THE ICING

While the cake is cooling, whisk together the powdered sugar, condensed milk, and lemon juice in a bowl until the icing is smooth and very spreadable. If the icing is too thick, add a bit more condensed milk; if it's a touch too loose, add a little more powdered sugar.

Once the cake has cooled, spread the icing over the top of the cake and sprinkle with purple, green, and gold decorative sugars while the icing is still wet. Tuck the fève or plastic baby into underside of the cake and, using a spatula, slide the cake onto a platter.

Note:As you knead the dough for this Mardi Gras cake, watch for it to begin to pull away from thesides of the mixing bowl. If that doesn't happen (because the moisture content in flour fluctuates with the humidity), add a spoonful or two more flour.

About the plastic baby: The original cake had a miniature santon, a replica of a Catholic saint, inserted into the unbaked pastry, according to Besh. "Over time the saint was also represented by a fava bean or fève (and eventually a little plastic baby). The lucky soul who discovers it in his piece is obligated to present the cake at the next year's Mardi Gras," Besh writes in his cookbook. Today the plastic baby is presented with the cake (for the server to slide into the cake from the bottom); not inserted in unbaked pastry.